Thursday, January 29, 2009

I woke up to my husband ironing his suit for today's meeting, with the shower running in the bathroom. Before I even had a chance to pee, he was running around our bedroom in search of an undershirt. Of course, I am the undershirt hog, as they are terribly comfy and match all of my cute flannel PJ pants, so the lack of undershirts for their intended purpose is completely my fault. And did I happen to be searching through the clean laundry with one all snuggly on my body? Oh yes, Ma'am, I did. He finally finds one on the floor of the bathroom and starts yelling at me:

After he was put together, we ventured upstairs to wake up four of the six monkeys. Abbi wants to wear her barbie jeans and matching sweater. Where is the sweater? Who knows. It was never found and she left in a bright purple turtleneck that matched nothing and looked absurd. We searched for her socks and came up empty handed, so we convinced her that crocs were better shoes for the rain anyhow! And then there was the minor issue of her hair.

Oh, God, her hair!!!

Since it's raining anyhow, we'll just blame it on the weather...NOW GET IN THE CAR OR DADDY'S GONNA BE LATE!!!

I turned my attention to the very sleepy trio, with only 15 mins to spare before the bus is across my driveway. After throwing cereal on the train table and frantically gathering outfits for them to wear, I started the search for the shoes. WHERE ARE ALL THE SHOES??? Eventually, I found 2 rights and a left for the Carebears and both a right and left for Spiderman. Where the heck is the other left shoe???

Kaeleb wanted a banana, not cereal, so he climbed up on the counter top. Unfortunately, on his quest, he knocked over a glass of cherry juice on to his pants. As it was, I had only managed to change him and I was working on Aoife's shirt at the time. I removed him from the counter, dripped cherry juice all over the floor in the process, and stripped him down to start again on his outfit. When I look over to see what happened to Aoife, I spy a naked fandoonie smiling back at me! She managed to disrobe, entirely, while I was dealing with the banana monkey. So, it's back to square one WITH ALL OF THEM...and the bus is expected in T minus 6 minutes. Lunches aren't packed, journals haven't been signed, rain jackets are MIA, and backpacks have yet to be loaded. I have one unchanged child, one naked child, and one pantless child with a pinkish tint to his legs from the cherry juice incident.

What happened next is a bit fuzzy. I know they were changed. I know they had jackets. I know I packed something in their lunch bags. The journals...well, I forgot them. And the bus arrived.

The methodical beeping of the reversing bus was reminiscent of the pounding of the tell-tale heart.

BEEP

"Where's the left shoe?"

BEEP

"I can't find the pink jacket!"

BEEP

"Oh good God, the lunches are on the counter!"

BEEP

"WHERE THE HELL IS THE LEFT SHOE???"

BEEP

Never did find the shoe, but they are all on the bus. Time to wake up my homeschool crew and let the real fun begin...

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

That is something I would have said, before battling with infertility or delivering my triplets. If I were to say that now, I would have to chose between the role of pot or kettle.In case you live under a rock and have yet to hear the latest news, a very blessed mommy in California delivered our nation's second living set of octuplets. She managed an admirable 31 weeks before delivering her six boys and two girls. All of her children are doing fabulously and breathing room air! Can you believe it?When I sat on the exam table of my trusted and cherished obstetrician and my triplet pregnancy was confirmed, I was told that I would not survive should I continue without reduction. The birth of my second child proved more than my uterus was equipped to handle, as the previous c-section scar did not fair well. When I became pregnant with my third child, I was told to prepare for an early delivery to avoid rupture. Abigeal came into our world at only 34 weeks and a portion of my uterus fell apart "like wet tissue paper" in the hands of my OB. So, with tears in her eyes, she informed me that my uterus would not hold up to the stress of three babies and that reduction was my only choice. When I told her that I would not elect certain death for a child of mine, she asked me to consider my three children already on this earth. She told me that my husband would be raising them without a mother.As compelling as her argument was, my heart was at peace. One thing I have learned from my adventures in infertility: someone else was in the driver's seat. Meticulously administered birth control failed and a beautiful baby girl changed my world forever. Perfect, flawless cycles produced doomed pregnancies and wickedly painful heartache. One absurdly askewed cycle, determined to be fruitless, brought about blessings threefold. Twelve confirmed pregnancies and three living children. Not by my design, this I assure you. Who was I to sit in the driver's seat now? Three babies settled in and three babies would stay, as long as the good Lord permitted. My heart was set and my mind was catching up quickly.Today, I look at my children and I think:"Which of my monkeys would I be willing to part with now? Of them, who would have been lost?"As you hear the various fertility specialist talk about the risks of carrying multiples and wag their finger at fertility patients for not slaughtering one or more of their unborn children, I ask you to simply reserve judgment. I ask you only to appreciate the shoes, in which you have not walked. As case in point, I would ask you to chose which of these babies should have been sacrificed?

Most importantly, I would ask that you pray for the health and growth of these eight precious little miracles. God is good and every child is a blessing. Congratulations to this new mother of many. My wish for her is a speedy recovery and lots, and lots, and lots of help in the years to come.

January 22, 2006I woke up in the hospital, at 28.3 weeks pregnant with triplets, and I knew something was different. Although I had been in the hospital for almost a month, the contractions were stronger and in my gut I knew something was not right. I had made the great hospital switch from Las Vegas to San Diego, only two days before (much to the disapproval of my father, who will probably never forget that trip!). I was settling in nicely, and my husband was set to take my older two children back home to NV while I remained in the very capable hands of my trusted and valued OB. When I woke up, I told him I was going to deliver. I told him not to leave. I told him something was wrong.

I was closely watched for the next few hours, as my contractions progress despite the drugs and intervention. Kevin went to my parents home to give them the news that he would be staying a while longer. In his absence, I started to panic. I remember telling the nurse that I wasn't ready. I remember begging her to figure something else out.

When my husband returned, we heard the news from the attending OB. We would be meeting our miracles this very evening. My trusted OB was out of town and I refused to do this without her! I was so very adamant, that the covering perinatologist called my room to attempt to calm me down. I assured him that was NOT going to deliver today. Just to be "on the safe side", he was going to come in.

I called one of my most dearest girlfriend to head over to my parent's home and care for my three children. I wanted my parents with me and there was no way I was going to appear decent for my children. I was miserable. I was swollen, drugged, and in tremendous pain. But mostly, I was scared.

The moments before those monkeys came in to my world are a blur. Nurses and doctors, noises and smells. Everyone moved so fast. When it was all said and done, I was told that 28 weekers had a "good shot" at survival, but the first 48 hours are critical.

Kaeleb Aedan, born at 10:29 pm and weighing 2 lbs 13 oz

Kaedence Channon, born at 10:30 pm and weighing 2 lbs 7 oz

Aoife Riley, born at 10:31 pm and weighing 2 lbs 12 oz

Tonight, three years to the minute, I am brought to tears over the blessings in my life. I know what a miracle my children are, and today, I celebrate that.

Today is Kaeleb's birthday! (Okay, yes. The rest of my triplet gang share the same birthday, but only one teacher was willing to participate in a little celebration. Ugh.)I brought cupcakes for all three classes and was delighted to hang with Kaeleb while his class wished him a very spirited happy birthday!

What a wonderful treat!!! You would never know that his cupcake is GFCF!!! Oh yeah, just call me Betty Crocker... For the rest of the class, I made traditional vanilla cupcakes. They sure seemed quite pleased!

What a happy little mess maker!

I am terribly disappointed that I was only able to see Kaeleb enjoy his special day with his friends. I wish I had similar pictures of Kaedence and Aoife. I guess that's just the cost of having three at once. But for the record, I think that stinks.

Kaeleb, Kaedence, and Aoife are all attending a special needs preschool run by our local school district. Tuesday was their first day.

They take the bus to school and they take the bus home.

Astonishingly, they have done great. Kaeleb typically falls asleep on the ride home and Kaedence has required a seat change to be in a position where she can see her siblings, but all has gone very, very well.

Each morning, they wait patiently by the front door for the bus. Kaeleb is in the Autistic classroom. He really enjoys his new friends. He's still learning how to follow the rules and how to join in the group.

Aoife is working on toilet training and following directions.

Kaedence doesn't really acknowledge the presence of others, but she is working on participating in a group environment. She really, really enjoys all the new toys!

The hardest part is having three teachers and three classrooms. It nice to have quiet mornings around the house where the older girls can study in peace. I am looking forward to a relaxing weekend with all of my many monkeys at home!